With lawmakers slated to decide whether to rein in President Donald Trumpâs military operations in Iran, most Democrats have rallied behind the measure.
But Fetterman, who is breaking from his party to support the U.S.âs military strikes over the weekend, will join most Senate Republicans to oppose Tuesdayâs war powers vote, a resolution that heâs called âempty sloganeering.â And heâs needling fellow Democrats who wonât follow suit.
âEvery member in the U.S. Senate agrees we cannot allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon,â Fetterman wrote on X. âIâm baffled why so many are unwilling to support the only action to achieve that.â
In both chambers, the bipartisan measure seems likely to fail. But prominent Democrats are still blasting Fetterman for being a âhard no.â
âWell, John Fetterman knows better,â House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told CNN on Monday. âArticle I of the Constitution explicitly provides Congress with the authority to declare war. Period, full stop.â
Meanwhile, progressives like Graham Platner and Saikat Chakrabarti said that any lawmaker who adopts Fettermanâs approach âshould lose their seat.âŻâ
âA man who has never seen war and never will,â Platner wrote of Fetterman.
Fetterman has shown willingness to break with his party on this issue. He already struck down a similar war powers vote in June, after the U.S. launched airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. His status as something of a GOP ally has earned him occasional plaudits from across the aisle. (âAmen, brother,â Ted Cruz chimed in on X, in response to Fettermanâs post about the war powers vote.)
Despite speculation that Republicans are trying to pull Fetterman closer to their preferred policy positions, Fetterman still refers to himself as a âcommitted Democratâ â albeit one with some words of praise for Trump.
âI might be a Democrat, but in this specific case, the president is absolutely correct to do these kinds of actions, and now we have Israel’s back,â he told âFox & Friends Weekendâ on Saturday.